1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an improved valve assembly and adapter for use with the valve assembly particularly adapted for use with containers for liquids to give an improved package. More particularly, it relates to such an improved valve structure which can be adapted to serve a variety of liquid packaging needs. Most especially, it relates to a valve assembly through which a container may be filled with a liquid and the liquid subsequently dispensed from the container in an improved manner.
2. Description of the Prior Art
As the need to simplify and reduce packaging costs of such different liquid products as draft beer and aerosol sprays has become increasingly severe, producers of these products have begun to consider alternatives to traditional metal or glass containers. The development of the so-called "Beer Sphere" and the consideration of plastic packaging for aerosol spray products are representative of these trends. While packaging technology for liquids is thus undergoing a period of rapid change and development, valve design has not kept pace. To a certain extent, conventional valve designs can be adapted for new container technologies, but this results in unnecessary difficulty and expense.
With respect to beer valve technology, representative prior art includes the following patents to Johnston: U.S. Pat. No. 3,861,569, issued Jan. 21, 1975; U.S. Pat. No. 3,866,626, issued Feb. 18, 1975 and U.S. Pat. No. 3,868,049, issued Feb. 25, 1975.
With respect to aerosol spray and related packaging technology, representative prior art includes the following U.S. patents: U.S. Pat. No. 2,500,119, issued Mar. 7, 1950 to Cooper; U.S. Pat. No. 2,543,850, issued Mar. 6, 1951 to Henricson; U.S. Pat. No. 2,631,814 and U.S. Pat. No. 2,799,435, issued Mar. 17, 1953 and July 16, 1957, respectively, to Abplanalp; U.S. Pat. No. 2,863,699, issued Dec. 9, 1958 to Elser; U.S. Pat. No. 2,913,749, issued Nov. 24, 1959 to Ayres; U.S. Pat. No. 3,333,743, issued Aug. 1, 1967 to Meyers; U.S. Pat. No. 3,348,742, issued Oct. 24, 1967 to Assalit; and U.S. Pat. No. 3,863,673, issued Feb. 4, 1975 to Sitton. Other prior art references describing such valves and packages include French patent application No. 2,462,629, published Feb. 13, 1981; European patent application No. 97,094, published Dec. 28, 1983 and French patent application No. 2,382,946, published Oct. 6, 1978.
The state of the art in liquid packaging technology is further indicated by Proceedings of Ryder Conference, 1985; Ninth International Conference on Oriented Plastic Containers, presented on Mar. 25-27, 1985, C. E. Sroog, R. J. Albert, F. P. Gay, and S. J. Seckner, "PET Aerosols Technology and Applications," pages 245-28, and in the earlier filed, co-pending applications as follows: Ser. No. 685,912, filed Dec. 27, 1984 and entitled "Method and Apparatus for Storing and Dispensing Fluids Containered Under Gas Pressure"; Ser. No. 635,450, filed July 31, 1984 and entitled "Syphon Assembly and Package Incorporating the Assembly"; Ser. No. 687,296, filed Dec. 28, 1984 and entitled "Integral Syphon Package Head", all filed in the name of Richard J. Hagan and Hagan and Lempert, Ser. No. 704,763, filed Feb. 20, 1985 and entitled "Seltzer Filling Apparatus and Process". While the art relating to the packaging and dispensing of liquids is therefore a well developed one, a need still remains for further development of valve designs to meet the demands of newer packaging technology for liquids.